Overdose Recovery Care: Bridging the Gap
- With International Overdose Awareness Day being recognized today, August 31, new research underscores persistent disparities in access to recovery resources and points toward strategies that could help address...
- Research reveals significant health care disparities in overdose recovery resources, emphasizing the need for better connections between opioid treatment programs and recovery centers.
- A recent study published in Frontiers in Public Health examined how directors of opioid treatment programs (OTPs) engage with recovery community centers (RCCs), peer-led organizations that provide non-clinical...
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Disparities in Opioid Recovery: Bridging the Gap between Treatment Programs and Community Support
With International Overdose Awareness Day being recognized today, August 31, new research underscores persistent disparities in access to recovery resources and points toward strategies that could help address them.1 Despite the effectiveness of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), which are widely recognized as the gold standard for treatment, manny individuals-particularly Black americans-continue to face barriers in sustaining recovery.
Research reveals significant health care disparities in overdose recovery resources, emphasizing the need for better connections between opioid treatment programs and recovery centers. | Image credit: Jayadiudara – stock.adobe.com
A recent study published in Frontiers in Public Health examined how directors of opioid treatment programs (OTPs) engage with recovery community centers (RCCs), peer-led organizations that provide non-clinical support ranging from mutual help groups and overdose prevention education to housing, childcare, and employment assistance. These centers are designed to complement clinical care and strengthen “recovery capital,” or the social and community resources that support long-term recovery.
These gaps in linkage take on particular urgency in light of racial disparities in overdose mortality. The opioid epidemic has claimed more than 107,000 lives in the United States in 2022 alone, with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl driving record overdose deaths, and the COVID-19 pandemic widened existing disparities.2 Black Americans in particular have experienced disproportionately high increases in overdose mortality, with recent data showing death rates surpassing those of White Americans for the first time since national tracking began.3
Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD)-including methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone-remain the gold standard of treatment, yet retention in care is limited, with nearly half of patients discontinuing within the first year.1 OTPs, which are the main entry point to MOUD in the US, are encouraged by federal guidance to connect patients with RCCs, peer-led organizations designed to provide long-term recovery support and strengthen social networks.
However, little is known about whether OTP directors were aware of RCCs, how often they referred patients to them, and what barriers might prevent collaboration. To address this gap, researchers conducted a national survey and interviews with OTP directors serving predominantly Black communities, aiming to better